Snapdancer Spotlighting Inglis' Everest Slot

“We've always had good respect for this mare,” Hutch said of Snapdancer. “She's always been very quick. She ran very quick time on 1200m at Randwick as a four-year-old, she ran a 1:07.7. I think if you lined up the historical 1200m times at Randwick, it’d be one of the quickest ever — the track record is 1:07.3.”

Hutch certainly does his homework and has moved rapidly with it. He grew up in Ireland, studying business and legal studies. However, Hutch was born into a string of veterinarians, which allowed him access to many horses.

Eventually, he worked in stables of Irish trainer John Oxx before trying his hand in America with California-based conditioner Neil Drysdale.

Eventually, Hutch got an opportunity with Coolmore. That career move sent him Down Under in 2008, where he’s been since. He eventually made the move to Inglis and has moved up the ranks saddled with an understanding of the continent’s market.

Hutch says Australian’s horse industry thrives because of its continuity and ability to maintain a solid product year-round.

“From the point of view of people who are interested in horse racing and breeding, it's a fantastic place to be,” Hutch said. “It’s just that the product is really excellent, the spectacle is amazing. 

“There's a real passion for racing. That’s not to say there isn't a passion in other parts of the world. It's a year-round exercise here. In other parts of the world, the racing tends to be very seasonal, whereas here, you know, there's something to take your attention throughout the year...

“I think that really, really appealed to me.”

In addition, Hutch credits the public’s attention span for fanning interest in the sport.

“The appetite for and the consumption of the product here is really amazing,” Hutch said. “The media coverage is across the board - the length and breadth of the country, it’s part of the social fabric of Australian society. Racing on a Saturday — there's good racing in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth every Saturday — it’s just a big part of life here.”

And Inglis has been a big part of the industry for 150 years in Australia, continuing to produce sensational catalogues, from yearlings to the Ready2Race Sale of 2YOs, which last year generated a record $12,016,500 from 110 lots sold at Warwick Farm.

“Inglis is a fantastic place to work,” Hutch said. “There's something really significant about working for a company that's been in business for over 150 years. It's really a remarkable thing in the context of the modern day and age and we're exceptionally busy in terms of selling, whether it's yearlings, breeding stock, racehorses, etc. We have a significant digital business, there's a lot going on. It’s a very interesting place to be, day to day.”

Hutch said Australia is gaining on other parts of the world in terms of two-year-old sales, but it isn’t quite there yet.

“I think in the context of Australia (the two-year-old market) is still a relatively underdeveloped market, relative to other parts of the world,” Hutch noted. 

“Two-year-old sales in America and Europe in particular, those are very sophisticated parts of the business and very well-advanced.

“Australia isn't at that same juncture yet, but the nature of the improvement in the work that people have done in the last five years has been very significant. 

“That’s borne out in the successful graduates in our sale over the last three years, considering the leading producer of stakes winners in Australia, relative to the other two-year-old sales of an equivalent kind. With that success has come confidence in those people looking to sell horses to the sale, they go and acquire a better product at the yearling sales, or go about sourcing a better product from respective providers — that, in turn, gives buyers more confidence that there's appropriate product there to be found at the sale...

“Anybody tracking the figures for our sales will have seen sustained growth over an extended period of time. That's something that's going to continue to be evident in years to come … particularly this year, because we've had the biggest and best catalogue we've ever had.”

That The Everest came about in the culture of other spectacular racing events like the Melbourne Cup was of no surprise. Hutch likens The Everest’s dash-for-cash concept to the Pegasus World Cup race in America at Florida’s Gulfstream Park.

“That’s not to say it's the same idea (as the Pegasus), but it's not a dissimilar idea, either,” Hutch noted.

“And fundamentally, Australia's synonymous with breeding, producing and racing speed horses, very speed orientated. So, the concept of The Everest in Australia in October, it is entirely plausible to put together a field annually of 12 world-class sprinters and race for an extraordinary amount of prize money.

“It was well-conceived and well-considered. It’s materialized to be hugely successful. It's only going to get bigger and better, I think, in years to come. The appetite for the race, not just amongst racing participants, but amongst the general public is really fantastic.

“It's been a tremendous addition to the racing calendar,” he added.

Not to mention, a solid reflection on those in charge of racing.

“Broadly speaking, we're just very fortunate to have a series or a group of racing administrators who are hugely committed to growing the returns to owners,” Hutch said. “Consequently, we’re looking to try and grow the number of people that are involved in the sport because ultimately, what people can yield from the sport — as well as the enjoyment they get from it — are two hugely important things. The

Australian authorities are very much focused on doing well in respect to both those things.”

Speaking of growth, the confidence and excitement are swelling around Inglis’ slot entrant in the sixth running of The Everest.

“We’ve always had great regard for Snapdancer, but it wasn't until Brad Spicer and his group approached us and suggested that she was she was a mare that they felt can be very, very effective in the race,” Hutch said. “For The Everest, the group put forwarded some information for us to consider, you know, we considered the information carefully. 

“We thought it made sense, given she’s a graduate of our Chairman’s Sale, we advanced conversations from there, and they were very receptive to the ideas that we had. And really, it was a very straightforward deal to strike. Now we look forward to the race and are really quite excited.

“Ultimately, I think Snapdancer has had the perfect preparation for the race to this point. Hopefully, she can have a smooth run up to the race and give a strong account of herself,” Hutch added.